In this section, I cover three main reflections related to my study. First, I discuss the strengths and limitations of the project. Second, I provide recommendations for alternate approaches. Last, I reflect on the role of scholarship, project development and evaluation, and leadership and change as I completed this doctoral study.
Project Strengths and Limitations Project Strengths
Using face to face meetings and allowing time for everyone to brainstorm ideas to solve this problem is a key strength of this project. In the interest of time efficiency, face to face meetings are reserved for the most important topics. Most communication is distributed via email and conference calls. This professional development project strengths include; collaboration, information dissemination, and faculty member
commitment. In general, the staff in the training department and throughout the university work diligently and collaborate well on projects. Once they are informed through the concise, research based information that directly affects their students the stakeholders will be able to use the new strategies to help support FGCS. Each professional included to participate in this professional development is uniquely qualified both with education and experience to make a significant improvement as they collaborate on best practices. The commitment of the faculty members is based upon the execution and facilitation of the project.
Project Limitations
I decided to conduct a 3 day professional development to inform faculty and training department members about the ongoing challenges faced by first generation college students. Although this is a good start it is also a limitation. Three days is insufficient time to make permanent changes to the process to address all areas of
concern for FGCS including issues with information, procrastination, and motivation. As key stakeholders, we can begin the process through this professional development but I would like to see it implemented as a series so that we can revisit the topic and see what progress we are making on it. In addition, to the positive and negative experiences described by study participants, the recommendations made by the FGCS in this study may be unavailable to report back on if the changes implemented were helpful to them.
Recommendations for Alternative Approaches Alternate Approaches to the Problem
First generation college student success could be approached in various ways. In this study the positive and negative experiences of FGCS were examined. The efficacy of this study depended largely on these students’ ability to accurately self-evaluate and the honestly report their shortcomings as well as those of others. This problem could be approached in the recruitment and preparation of FGCS by making contact or
informational campaigns to increase interest in college attendance much earlier in their educational career. Community members and families could also be informed early about the benefits of college attendance and what they could do to help prepare FGCS for the decision to attend college.
Alternate Definitions of the Problem
The problem at Sparks University is that despite established corrective measures, support programs, and increased enrollment, attrition rates are increasing among FGCS. The problem has been examined from an external perspective by the university by
looking at the increased enrollment and still increasing attrition rates of FGCS. This study explored the positive and negative experiences of FGCS from their perspective. The proposed solutions have looked at how university officials could better support them academically however the problem may not be academic in nature. One alternative definition of the problem might include FGCS’ extracurricular or personal obligations that distract them from academic pursuits. Another alternate definition of the problem could include secondary education counselors placing these students on academic tracks that are not college preparatory or lack sufficient rigor.
Alternative Solutions to the Local Problem
Just as there are multiple perspectives to the problem of first generation college student experiences, there are also many alternative solutions to the local problem. When students are enrolled, they are introduced to many different staff members that are responsible for different facets of the admission, enrollment, and support processes. One alternative solution to the local problem could be to assign a group of students to one person that could manage that process for them. This would facilitate the development of a rapport and a relationship between students and staff. This staff member could direct these students to the existing resources that may better support their academic success
and prevent FGCS from having so many issues with information, procrastination, and motivation.
Scholarship, Project Development and Evaluation, and Leadership and Change This study and subsequent project were important to administrators, instructors, trainers, and support staff because almost 48% of freshman students are FGCS and job requisitions depend on student retention. The issues that affect them essentially affect a quarter of the college population and cannot be ignored. Indications from this study, and data analysis showed that FGCS struggle in the areas of information, procrastination, and motivation. These emerging themes were shared by participants interviewed during this study. This study on the perceptions and experiences of FGCS provided important insights into the issues that have a significant effect on student performance. Knowles’s principals of andragogy, which stated that adult learners needed to see a value and personal benefit to the information they study in order to be successful, guided the study and served as the conceptual framework.
I have been a trainer and instructor for more than 20 years. During my tenure, I noticed many FGCS encounter challenges that other more experienced students did not. Non first generation college students seemed to be at ease during the application, admission, enrollment, financial aid process, and also during class attendance.
Conversely FGCS tended to miss the start of coursework due to issues like not having their financial aid processed correctly or not have course reading materials. I saw their frustration affect their morale and effort and ultimately their performance or persistence. Although my parents graduated from college, they did not pursue further degrees and
thus, I found myself needing guidance and support from others as I pursued higher degrees. My experiences taught me that something like financial aid delays can create large amounts of stress which distracted or discouraged me from focusing and performing at my best. Despite my personal experiences, the training I received has prepared me to accurately report the findings with any undisclosed bias.
Despite the training and preparing I received, conducting the actual interviews as difficult to do at first. I struggled with feelings of privacy invasion although all
participants volunteered and participated at will. I wanted to ensure that I remained unbiased, unemotional, nonreactive, and accurately reported my findings. I found that my journal and anecdotal notes seemed biased but I was able to sift through my comments and simply report what each participant shared. The more interviews I conducted I became more comfortable and effective at developing a rapport with participants. Reflective Analysis of Personal Learning
Exposure is important to first generation college students however it was equally beneficial to me for my personal learning. I am a planner I tend to write things down step by step and create checklist. These rituals are helpful to me so that I will not forget anything. At the beginning I was worried that my process might make me seem robotic or unapproachable but that was not the case. My reflective analysis of my personal learning is that exposure, preparation, checklist, arriving early and eliminating distractions were key elements that improved my performance and thus my ability to maintain a
the data and my performance improved and was accurate since none of my initial findings that I shared with participants required any corrections.
Growth of Self as a Scholar
It is inevitable that if you are an honest self-evaluator you will always find areas that you would like to improve. Although I arrived early and prepared my materials in advance, I still noticed each interview required that I consider making additional changes. As I continued to throughout the process, I became more relaxed, more familiar with the process, and less afraid that I would make a mistake. I chose purposeful sampling to select the ten participants for this study. I gradually improved my interview skills and began to know when to ask additional questions to get rich text and in depth responses. I was careful not to infer meanings or to assume I understood what participants were trying to express. I focused on accurate reporting without any additions or clarification of meanings on my part. I grew as a scholar each time I was sought answers and accurately reported them without prejudice of any kind either for or against participants’ statements. Growth as a Practitioner
As a part of my job I have to perform many tasks. Each member of the training department participates in professional development, curriculum development, member engagement and individually assigned tasks toward training module maintenance. During this research project I had to lead and conduct the interviews with each first generation college student participant. In a short period of time I had to develop a rapport, follow the procedures and ask probing questions. With each passing interview I became more comfortable and can truly see my growth as a practitioner.
I could identify easily with the challenges described by the FGCS participants. Being unsure of where to locate necessary information is something I have experienced as I joined different organizations. Because I lacked this information, I tended to
procrastinate on work assignments. Once I realized that I was running behind schedule on a project I lost motivation and felt discouraged. These experiences caused me to easily understand the frustrations experienced by FGCS and to eagerly look for ways to address their concerns. I was aware that I had some shared experiences so I was very careful not to allow my bias to show and to simply accurately report the results from the study. My growth as a practitioner was evident to me because I could see how I could transfer this knowledge to my practice and also expect that some of my students and colleagues might be experiencing the same things.
Growth as a Project Developer
My growth as a project developer took some time. I considered many options for ways to share this information with the decision makers. First, I wanted the staff to see the value of the study. I felt that if they could see the benefit of helping FGCS it would facilitate their participation in the professional development and the strategies for
improvement. The project which ended up being a 3 day professional development would need several parts to discuss the issues. The findings from this study indicated that first generation college students experienced difficulties related to: (a) information issues, (b) procrastination issues, and (c) motivation issues. Although staff members may not have been FGCS everyone has had some personal experiences that caused them to experience
difficulties related to the acquisition and use of information, avoiding procrastination, maintaining motivation throughout projects.
During the design of this project I wanted the participants to share what they knew, learn something new about the issues, but most importantly to a plan with action items on how to increase the positive experiences and decrease the negative experiences. I allowed ample time for training and education professionals to collaborate and find workable, achievable solutions to the issues shared by first generation college students. Finally, I wanted to highlight the recommendations provided by the FGCS during their interviews as direct feedback to our performance as a faculty. I understand that by
acknowledging their recommendations and implementing as many as possible we will be creating better educational outcomes for FGCS and all students.
Reflection on Importance of the Work
My reflection on the importance of the work with first generation college students’ experiences also causes me to reflect on our current preparation process for students. Education is an important part of human development. Access to education has not been equally distributed. Some individuals are raised with the expectation that they will attend college, while others are not expected to participate. As a result, first
generation college students are trailblazers within their family as the first members to attend college. There are many subjects that students would never have the opportunity to be exposed to without going to college. It is therefore imperative that students have the option to attend. Working with first generation college students, to capture their positive
and negative experiences is an important way to improve their preparation and encourage them to pursue higher education.
Educators and interested stakeholders can work together based upon the findings to improve support, recruitment, and preparation of first generation college students. The current student support practices can also be improved based upon the recommendations from the findings in this study. First generation college students themselves might serve as great liaisons to between the faculty, student support, and faculty. Those students exhibiting success might also serve to mentor incoming students and help direct them to information, prevent procrastination, and sustain their initial motivation.
Implications, Applications, and Directions for Future Research
Recruitment practices for first generation college students have changed. Financial aid has allowed previously excluded students to be able to finance their
education. This study on the positive and negative experiences of first generation college students produced findings which indicated there are ways in which their needs could be better met. Implementing these changes could result in higher graduation rates for this group of at risk students. Thus, further research on implications that these changes are having is an important step. The findings are not limited to the local university but their applications could serve to improve conditions for other institutions as well. Positive social change may occur if findings provide universities with information that could be utilized to improve FGCS’ experiences leading to higher graduation rates.
Students that were not successful and decided against finishing their education might be a valuable resource for further research to discuss the reasons that they left
school. Another direction for future research might be to ask first generation family members for their ideas about the importance or availability of educational access for their children before they actually entered the university. Secondary education
professionals might provide additional insight into why first generation students might be at risk. Finally, first generation college students that were successful at attaining their college degrees may provide some strategies that they used.
Conclusion
The purpose of the study was to explore FGCS and university administrators positive and negative experiences affecting FGCS’ decision to drop out, and examine their recommendations for improvements based on their experiences to prevent attrition. While first generation college students (FGCS) are the first within a family to be admitted and attend a 4 year post-secondary institution of higher learning, they may experience lower retention and higher attrition rates compared to other at risk student groups.
University officials made specific strides to recruit first generation college students as an underserved previously disenfranchised population. Their characteristics created some special needs and those unmet needs classified many FGCS as at risk. I interviewed ten FGCS about their positive and negative experiences that contributed to their decision to discontinue their education and tried to garner their recommendations for improvement from their perspectives. Upon the data collection and analysis completion some themes emerged and created the findings that first generation college students experienced difficulties related to: (a) information issues, (b) procrastination issues, and (c)
support FGCS needs and to address their recommendations. First generation college students are an important part of the student population and deserve further exploration as to how they can receive greater support and in turn produce greater results.
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